Among the conventional image forming apparatus are there ones provided with a stripping claw for the purpose of preventing a paper sheet from winding on a rotary body such as photoreceptor drum, fuser roller, transfer belt and so forth that are disposed along a conveying path of the paper sheet onto which an image forming is performed. The stripping claw, typically being disposed facing the rotary body on the downstream side therefrom in the conveying path, strips the paper sheet that winds on the rotary body off the rotary body with its sharp tip.
In the conventional image forming apparatus, it has occasionally been experienced that the paper sheet bends sharply and thereby presses the stripping claw when a jam (paper jam) occurs on the downstream side from the rotary body at which the stripping claw is installed in the conveying path. And such an occurrence has caused a problem of damaging the rotary body due to the sharp tip of the stripping claw pressed against the rotary body.
In dealing with such a problem, a fuser unit has been proposed hitherto in which a movable part of a paper sheet conveyance guide moves to expand a space inside the conveying path when a paper sheet bending sharply due to a jam comes into contact with the conveyance guide with a load greater than normal. With the fuser unit, because of the expansion of the space inside the conveying path, a load will not work on the stripping claw even when the paper sheet bends sharply. As a result, it is possible to prevent the rotary body from being damaged (refer to Patent Literature 1).